Richard Snyder played soccer growing up, but he dropped it for a few years to focus on tennis.

Snyder has made a nice return to the sport this year, however, breaking into the Bluffton rotation as a junior in his first year of high school soccer. He scored three goals Tuesday evening as the Bobcats started the regular season with a 17-0 victory against visiting Whale Branch.

Fabrizio Camera led Bluffton with four goals and fellow junior Akeel Crooks had three against the Warriors’ first-year program.

“For most of the game, we were pretty consistent and playing pretty well,” said Snyder, who scored on a cross and two headers.

Snyder said he picked soccer back up in a physical education class last year and decided to join the team this spring.

Bluffton outshot the Warriors 42-0, holding a 29-0 advantage at halftime, and finished with 30 shots on goal.

Crooks got the Bobcats on the board after four minutes and Jonathan Escamilla and Camera gave them a 3-0 lead midway through the first half.

Camera scored twice more before in the first half and Jose Ceron and Sage Cross added goals for a 7-0 halftime lead.

Crooks had a pair of goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half to secure a hat trick. Camera matched him at the 28-minute mark and Snyder scored twice in the final nine minutes.

Ceron and Cross finished with two goals apiece. Osiel Maldonado and William Holland also scored.

“It’s a good way to start, obviously,” Bluffton coach Josh Fox said. “One of the big challenges playing a game like this is getting your guys to play their game instead of playing down to the level of the opponent. I think we did a really good job of that.”

Comments are welcome, so long as they are civil. A Facebook account is required. Abuse may result in the commenter being permanently blocked. Personal attacks are strictly prohibited. We reserve the right to remove any comments at any time.